Deep fat frying of various foods, including french fries, chicken, fish, onion rings, and breaded vegetables, is a well known and popular method of cooking. Deep frying equipment utilized by restaurants or other establishments for preparing food for public consumption is typically expensive and complex equipment which includes built-in fans, duct work, and filtering systems for venting the airborne by-products of the deep frying process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,868, issued to Higgins et al., discloses an automated deep fry vending machine for frying a controllable portion of food in a closed (or ventless) environment. This and other prior attempts at ventless cooking have several drawbacks. The vending machines were large and energy inefficient. Also, they were mechanically complex and subject to frequent breakdowns. In addition, existing deep fry machines require frequent service to drain and replace the frying oil.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a more compact, self-contained automated deep fryer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a deep fryer with improved energy efficiency.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a deep fryer with an improved air purifier which isolates airborne, bitter smelling organic compounds in an area remote from the cooking area and the food storage area and is easily cleaned and maintained.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a deep fryer with a sealed cooking chamber which does not allow the airborne byproducts of the frying process to contaminate the stored food.